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Monthly Archives: March 2013
DON’T LET YOUR HANDS DROP OFF THIS EASTER
For some of us, Easter has a vague association with bunnies and a stronger association with chocolate. But Roman gladiators - until now, not so much.
THE TITANIC SINKS IN 1898! RICHARD PARKER EATEN TWICE!!
You cannot use co-incidence in a novel. Not ever. Every writer is taught that, from Story Structure 101. Even back in Ancient Greece, when Horace was in short pants, the deus ex machina was the mark of the amateur. Yes, … Continue reading
THE 19 FUNNIEST WRITER’S NAMES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
We discussed here a few weeks ago why it is sometimes a good idea to use a pen name. Here are some more good reasons. I knew you’d think I was making these up so here they are, complete with … Continue reading
THE SHE WOLF OF ROME: THE EMPRESS THEY JUST COULDN’T KILL
Her mother is remembered by history as a modest and heroic woman. Agrippina the Younger isn’t. She was born at a Roman outpost on the Rhine, near present day Cologne. She came from a line of Roman bluebloods; her father … Continue reading
DISAPPOINTMENT AND BOURBON ARE HARD ON THE HEART
Errol Flynn was a legend in his own lifetime. He was a swashbuckling, devil may care movie heartthrob of the thirties and forties, a silver screen adventurer and real life playboy with an enlarged heart, a morphine problem, chronic tuberculosis … Continue reading
IF YOU WRITE THAT, I’LL KILL YOU
So, religion. Is it about God or is it about women’s rights? Egypt’s Moslem Brotherhood recently spoke out against a UN declaration on women’s rights, saying it could “destroy society” by allowing a woman to travel, work and use contraception … Continue reading
AFTER 70 YEARS, THEY FINALLY FOUND HARRY!
They found Harry. Harry was lost behind the Iron Curtain for much of his life. The Russians weren’t much interested in him. But recently Harry turned up again, not that much worse for wear, considering he’s been buried for 70 … Continue reading
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAILURE AND HEADY, UNDREAMED-OF SUCCESS?
Between washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant and treading the red carpet at the Oscars? Not very much. Ask Michael Blake. Through the late seventies, he turned out one unproduced screenplay after another. But in 1981 a friend of his … Continue reading
IT’S 1929. LET’S GO CLUBBING
Your girlfriend is late, as always. There’s a newspaper on the hall table and you look at the headline: “TWO WOMEN IN FIGHT, ONE STRIPPED, OTHER EATS BAD CHECK”. What is this? The Evening Graphic. Of course. You reach for … Continue reading
THE REAL STORY OF THE INDIAN WOMAN IN ‘DANCES WITH WOLVES’
She was christened Cynthia Ann Parker, but she would have told you her name was Naduah “Keeps Warm With Us”. Hers is one of the great love stories of the Wild West - and ultimately the saddest. She was born … Continue reading
